Yashasvi Jaiswal, sporting the Royals’ pink cap for the first time as stand-in skipper, won the toss in Jaipur and sent Gujarat Titans in. “We just feel the surface might grip later, so chasing looks the simpler call,” he said in typically understated fashion.
His promotion came about because Riyan Parag’s tweaked hamstring, suffered while fielding against Delhi Capitals, ruled the all-rounder out. “Nothing major, just a small strain, but no point risking him,” the Royals’ physio told local radio earlier in the day.
Without Parag the hosts shuffled three pieces. Shimron Hetmyer’s middle-order muscle returned, Sri Lankan all-rounder Dasun Shanaka replaced the out-of-form seamer Nandre Burger, and seamer-all-rounder Yash Raj Punja stepped in ahead of leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi, who stayed on the Impact bench. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is pencilled in as the substitute batter should a chase materialise.
Head coach Kumar Sangakkara kept it calm. “Hetty gives us finishing options, Shanaka covers both skills, and Yash Raj has earned a crack,” he remarked at training yesterday.
Gujarat, winners of their last three, stuck largely with what works. Captain Shubman Gill confirmed only one potential swap: Prasidh Krishna is the designated Impact Sub and is likely to come in for left-arm spinner Manav Suthar, hammered for 27 in his solitary over against Punjab. “Horses for courses,” Gill noted. “If the quick’s needed, Prasidh’s ready; if it’s spin, Manav can still play a part.”
Playing XIs
Rajasthan Royals (bowling first): Yashasvi Jaiswal (c), Dhruv Jurel (wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Donovan Ferreira, Ravindra Jadeja, Shubham Dubey, Dasun Shanaka, Jofra Archer, Brijesh Sharma, Tushar Deshpande, Yash Raj Punja.
Impact options: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Adam Milne, Ravi Singh, Ravi Bishnoi, Sushant Mishra.
Gujarat Titans (batting first): Shubman Gill (c), Sai Sudharsan, Jos Buttler (wk), Nishant Sindhu, Washington Sundar, Jason Holder, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Arshad Khan, Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj.
Impact options: Prasidh Krishna, Glenn Phillips, Anuj Rawat, R Sai Kishore, Kumar Kushagra.
Quick numbers
– Burger’s economy rate this season: 10.33; bowling average: 37.33.
– Shanaka features for only the second time in 2026.
– Royals have chased successfully five times in seven attempts; Titans have defended totals six out of nine.
Early days, but the match-ups look even. For Rajasthan the storyline is Jaiswal’s leadership and how they cover Parag’s all-round overs. For Gujarat it is whether their relatively unchanged unit can keep rolling. As Gill put it, “Different captain, same game – let’s just play good cricket.”
